Directions: In the foll6wing article, some sentences
have been removed. For Question 41—45, choose the most suitable one the list A—G
to fit into each of the numbered blank. There are extra choices, which do not
fit in any of the gaps. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (10 points)
Is Harvard worth it Conventional wisdom says yes. But with
the price of a degree from America’s most famous university and other elite
private colleges now surpassing $125,000, many families — and a number of
economists — aren’t so sure. Here’s a look at the evidence. For
American’s high school, seniors, April is the cruelest month. That’s when
colleges flood the postal system with news of who has won a place in next fall’s
freshman class. For more than a few families, a difficult decision will follow:
Is it worth paying some $125,000 to give their child an education at an elite
best private college Or would her future be just as bright if she went to less
expensive school 41. ______ Certainly many
neurotic boomer parents — and their stressed-out resume-building teenagers —
assume that it is always better to choose Harvard over Big State U. because of
Harvard’ s presumably superior educational environment, better alumni
connections, and more lucrative (profitable) on-campus recruiting
opportunities. 42. ______ It’s also true that if
you want a career in big leading firms in the US, a gilt-edged diploma is a
distinct advantage. Then again, there’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that an
elite education is hardly necessary. The majority of top CEOs (chief executive
officer) surveyed by FORTUNE in 1990 did not attend an elite college.
43. ______ The academic evidence is murky to start with
the basics: College pays. On average, a person with an undergraduate degree now
earns almost twice as much as someone with only a high school diploma, up from
1.5 times in 1975. The economic literature on the payoff of
graduating from an elite college, however, as opposed to any college, is far
less conclusive. Several studies during the past decade found a connection
between higher future earnings and attendance at a college with high SAT scores.
Most of the research concluded that for each 100-point increase in the average
SAT score, a graduate could expect a 3% to 7% increased in lifetime’s
earnings. 44. ______ You would expect graduates
of selective schools — which attract successful students — to have successful
careers. (It would be stunning if they didn’t.) What such studies do not measure
is how an individual’s earnings are affected by the choice of college.
Researchers found that those who went to the more prestigious schools reported
higher earnings. 45. ______ Admissions offices
at elite schools include many other criteria in their decisions — grades,
extracurricular activities, recommendations, essays, interviews. These factors
may reveal abilities, like good communication skills, that are far more valuable
in the workplace than a perfect 1600. Because economists have no data on these
traits, they term them" unobserved." But they are hardly unimportant. Until
recently, no one had tried to control for unobserved characteristics in
measuring the effect of an elite education on earnings. [A] What
is less clear to many parents and their college-bound youngsters is whether it
makes economic sense to attend an elite school with a total four-year price tag
big enough to buy a nice suburban house in many parts of the country.
[B] So what kind of return is there likely to be on that $125,000
investment And how does it compare with the return on a less expensive but also
less prestigious education [C] These questions have no easy
answers. Of course, that’s not the impression you get from the
$500-million-a-year college-admissions industry, with its magazine rankings,
test prep courses, and guidebooks. [D] But the studies compared
schools, not people. [E] School selectivity, measured by the
average SAT score of the students at a school, doesn’t pay off in a higher
income over time. [F] It’s true that big law firms, major
teaching hospitals, and investment banks — even the offices of FORTUNE — are
stuffed with Ivy Leaguers. [G] But SAT scores are not
everything.